An Honest Review: Suicide Squad

So let’s talk about Suicide Squad, one of the most highly anticipated films of the year.

Synopsis:

Figuring they’re all expendable, a U.S. intelligence officer decides to assemble a team of dangerous, incarcerated supervillains for a top-secret mission. Now armed with government weapons, Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang, Killer Croc and other despicable inmates must learn to work together. Dubbed Task Force X, the criminals unite to battle a mysterious and powerful entity, while the diabolical Joker (Jared Leto) launches an evil agenda of his own.

The verdict? There was some pacing issues and the worldbuilding/mythos was a bit rushed, especially considering this is only the third movie in the DCEU universe. Definitely some areas of opportunity in terms of the editing. It made the one scene with Amanda Waller handing out pinkslips gangsta style a bit on the nose.

Suicide Squad is a fun popcorn movie that’s got heart, strong characters, and a pretty solid story. It proves to be far superior to 95 percent of the crap Marvel has produced. Anyone have any objections to that? What about you Billy Jean? Oh okay then.

But I now understand why Rotten Tomatoes and early reviews trashed this film.

DC just gave Marvel/Disney and fandom the middle finger in proving that diversity and artistry are not mutually exclusive.

This film features two black leads, a white bisexual protagonist, Asian, Native American, and Latino characters who are well developed and have their own agencies.

Suicide Squad is a meta commentary on outcasts — and by extension Nerds of Color (see what I did there), LGBTQs, and other minorities. This movie is for the outsiders who were too black and/or too gay and weren’t allowed to join the Avengers and by extension the Mickey Mouse Club. See Paul Mooney if that reference evades you.

My buddy Zahir said it best, this movie is for us and celebrates us. A fact proven even moreso when my squad Zahir, Benjamin, and fellow N.O.C. crew Desiree and Rodrigo were able to discuss and celebrate being black, brown and queer geeks in a safer space.

Unlike the MCU, on the movie front DCEU is even willing to diversify its Big Bads and include a villainess, Enchantress.

And while we’re on the subject of women let’s discuss how the ladies of this film kicked ass on every conceivable level. From Enchantress to Katana to Harley Quinn to Amanda Waller herself.

What’s interesting is that in terms of the comics, Marvel has dominated in sales and has been killing it in terms of diversity. Meanwhile the MCU leaves much to be desired and the only reason it’s moving away from the straight white guy narrative is because of competition from the DCEU. DC Comics have been a walking fustercluck on the printed page but they’ve slayed in terms of diversity and quality in their films.

Also this movie also makes history because for the first time ever, the Batmobile gets upstaged by another car… the chariot of the gods: the purple Lamborghini.

Say what you will for the DCEU, whether you agree all of their with their decisions or not, if they are guilty of anything it is going hard to appeal to their fanbase. Case in point: The #AAIronFist campaign was straight up ignored by Marvel/Disney. The #KeepIrisWestBlack campaign was embraced with open arms by DC/Warner.

And folks wonder why I’m here for the DCEU.

But back to Suicide Squad. This movie gets an A-/B+

This concludes my list of highly anticipated films for 2016. You can have the theaters back now.

Also, if you haven’t already. Check out Waller and the rest of Task Force X in Batman: Assault on Arkham.

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Published by Dennis R. Upkins

Speculative Fiction Novelist. Author of Hollowstone, West of Sunset and other cool stories.
Wordsmith, activist and nerd seraph. Saving the world and/or taking it over.
http://www.dennisupkins.wordpress.com
View all posts by Dennis R. Upkins

13 comments

I’ve been seeing nothing but bad reviews of this movie without any real critiques of what’s actually wrong with the movie outside of nit-picky stuff that non-geeks think is deeply important. That hasn’t dampened my enthusiasm for this movie in the slightest. My whole body knows this movie is for me and has known this since the first trailer.

When I go to the movies I am there for the feels and the characters. When I’m in the middle of a movie, unless the story is just blatantly, awfully, wrong, I won’t give two twigs about it. I’ll think about the story later. my standards are: Was this movie entertaining to watch?

Harley, and Amanda “The Wall” Waller, are two of my favorite women in the comic books and I need to see them on the big screen.

DC is killing it in the movies because they’re including people who are asking to be included. I don’t know what the Hell is wrong with the MCU, although I love most of the comic books. That said, I am still looking forward to Luke Cage and Black Panther despite my critiques.

i thoughly enjoyed that film but I did like Jared Leto and this version of the joker. if fit with the whole gangster vibe of the clown prince of crime they had going on. I will buy the dvd to see all of joker and harley deleted scenes that were cut from the film which will show more of their abusive relationship. I loved Viola Davis through as Amanda Waller- like she had me scared of her in the theater. Like i watched that post credit seeing and was yelling at Ben like ‘don’t do it, she is not one to be played with’

Definitely about Leto, a shame Ledger left us too soon his joker will be up there with one of the best. Another thing this Joker seemed too flamboyant sociopath I prefer a Joker that is not all there. The Killing Joke to me is his definite origin.

Out of all the Joker’s Leto’s was the one I least liked. About Waller there’s people like her in real life, those who will do what it takes to complete their mission what’s that saying again? ”The reason we can sleep safely in our beds at night is because there are uncivilized people ready to do harm to those who would wish us death.”